Since the early 1900’s, Argentina’s development as a country has largely coincided with the development of its agriculture industry. Today, Argentina is well-known for its role in the global market as an exporter of natural goods. Not only is it a country with one of the highest levels of transgenic crops, but it also holds the title of the largest exporter of organic production in Latin America. With these two successful yet contradictory forms of agriculture largely geared toward exportation, I set out to understand how this coexistence is reflected in the internal market for natural goods.

Through intensive, thorough secondary research, various interviews with different actors in the industry and a week -long stay on an organic family farm, I soon discovered that this coexistence is not institutionally reflected in the internal market. In light of the neoliberalism of the 90’s and a strong effort to be integrated into the global market, Argentina’s current agriculture model caters to large companies who cultivate mass mono-production largely for the purpose of exportation. In fact, the majority of internal organic market operates outside of the system of regulation and certification, with little government support. Therefore, the current model for agriculture doesn’t support small-scale organic production. Furthermore, these two different types of agriculture share much of the same terminology to refer to their production methods and objectives, poorly reflecting the political discourse of the agriculture industry.

With a disconnect from the institutionally regulated system and a lack of customer awareness beyond their immediate consumers, the internal organic market has formed its own social and operational dynamics to survive, relying on sustainable methods of production, a direct consumer to producer relationship and an exchange network of producers, ultimately revolutionizing the model of agriculture production little by little. Consequently, in a context of growing social, political, and environmental global issues surrounding development, this model of local, organic production presents a sustainable solution.

Disciplines

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Growth and Development